Rock and A Hard Place
by Nightshade's sydneylover150
Summary: They were good people to you, Mr. Potter.  I never have said they weren't good people to you.  They loved you and care for you.  Your father sacrificed his life for you."  Now with a working link!


**Title**: Rock and a Hard Place

**Author**: Nightshade sydneylover15

**Disclaimer**: Don't own.

**Rating**: T for teen

**Beta**: tigerbear1217

**A/N**: Influenced by but not following PadyandMoony's No Disparagement challenge.

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><p>"Mr. Potter," Snape said in a neutral voice. "You are just going to have to face facts that it is unlikely that I will ever like Black or your father."<p>

"I don't understand why you cannot admit that they were good people!" Harry exclaimed loudly as he stared the Headmaster directly in the eye or as directly as he could since he was five inches shorter than Snape. "Why are you so desperate to hang onto some past grievance? I've seen your memories! I know you were the first to insult Sirius and my Dad! I know you gave it as good as you got!"

"I never set a werewolf on them." Snape stated, with some fury bleeding into his eyes.

"No, you just joined the deatheaters." Harry said with venom.

"Yes. I did." There was no hesitancy in Snape's voice.

But Harry wouldn't let up. "That is more horrible than anything they ever did to you."

"Perhaps." Snape stated in almost a bored tone.

"No, it is." Harry stared into Snape, no Severus' eyes. This man was no longer his professor or his headmaster. The war was over. All this man was now only a comrade, someone who survived the war as well.

Once upon a time, he could have been a mentor, but no more. Harry was seventeen. He survived a war and Voldemort. He no longer needed mentors.

"At least I was able to use my mistake to do some good. Else the light would not have had a spy to give it information."

Harry snorted. "Is that the excuse you tell yourself for all the people you probably killed? And you dare to tell me that you do not believe that my father and my godfather were good people?"

"No." Severus said simply.

"What?" Harry could not believe his ears. After all they had gone through, this man dared to state that his father and his godfather were not good people. "How dare you…."

"No, that is not the excuse I tell myself, Mr. Potter. I am well aware of what I have done. I know exactly what I have done to the world, Lily, and yourself." The older wizard looked Harry in the eyes before his eyes shifted to gaze upon the broken landscape of Hogwarts. "I will live with what I have done for the rest of my life. I will hear the screams of the innocent and I will continue to feel the guilt of my sins. One day, perhaps if there is such a place, I will go to hell."

Harry stared at this man in front of him in shock. How in the world could he have just said that and what did that have to do with his father and his godfather?

"The difference between what I did and what your father and dogfather did is that I feel guilty for the actions I did as a deatheater. I even feel guilty for some, not all of the pranks I pulled against your father and his god forsaken Marauders. I feel sorry for my actions and words against you. However, as even Black told you, he has never felt guilty about sending me out to my death." Severus stated in a neutral voice, before turning to look once more at Harry. "Your father never apologized or expressed guilt for what he had done either."

"Neither have you." Harry retorted.

Severus cocked his head. "Not to you or the wizarding public in general, no. I have to two people I trusted though."

"And they forgave you." Harry stated with certainty.

"No."

"What? You must be lying!"

Severus turned to him and frowned. "Why would they forgive me, Mr. Potter? I had done horrible things. I deserved to be punished. I know that. I never asked forgiveness from the second person. Instead I offered him anything to protect your mother… and by proxy your father and you. The first I did and she basically informed me that whatever friendship we had died the moment I uttered a single, horrible word."

Harry's face contorted with anger and confusion. "If you knew your sins were so horrible then why do you not think that my father and my godfather were a good people?"

"They were good people to you, Mr. Potter. I never have said they weren't good people to you. They loved you and careed for you. Your father sacrificed his life for you." Severus stated in a soft voice. "They were even good people to anyone they considered to be a member of the light."

Harry caught the implication in that and got ready to give Severus a retort when the older wizard held up his hand.

"And well they should have. It was war, even when we were children and especially when we were young adults. Too many people couldn't be trusted."

Harry just stared at his old Potions professor for a long time.

"You still haven't answered my question. Why won't you admit out loud they were good people?"

Severus laughed. Harry found he liked the sound, as it was deep and rich. However, it seemed… strained.

"Harry you are equating liking a person with believing that they are good people."

"What's the difference?" Harry stated sharply. "From my point of view there isn't one."

"No, I would expect at your age, you would not." Severus said with a slight quirk of his lips.

"Because there isn't one."

"There is one Harry. Just like you can respect a person but not like them, you can think a person is generally a good person and not like them as well."

"So do you or don't you think they are good people?"

"Generally, yes. I can say that now." Severus said plainly.

"Then why won't you work with Sirius now."

"Because I do not like him and neither does he like me." Harry could see Severus' left eye twitch, which usually meant that Harry was pushing at Severus' temper. But today, Harry didn't care.

"You worked perfectly fine with him when we were taking down Voldemort." Harry said with vehemence.

"We were being civil and barely that Harry." Now there was anger in his old professor's voice.

"If you want to be my mentor, than you are going to have to work with him and learn to like him."

"No, I do not."

"Well then, I guess this is where we part then, huh?" Harry whispered angrily. He could not believe the man in front of him was willing to throw away all the comradery they had shared and the mentoring relationship that had developed over the past few years…. Well, after Severus had managed to keep Sirius from falling through the veil. "Because you can't make me turn against my father or him."

"I know I cannot." Severus said without looking at Harry. "However, there is such a thing as agreeing to disagree, Harry.

"No there isn't."

Severus nodded. "If that is what you choose to believe, Mr. Potter."

"It is."Harry stated simply. "They are both good people. My dad was a good person and so is my godfather."

"I never said they weren't to you Harry." Severus stated. "However, I just cannot find it within myself at this time to forgive and like two people who do not even feel guilty. Too much damage has been done for me to ever like them."

"That's not good enough." Tears were welling up in his eyes. "He saved your life."

"As did I save his." Severus replied.

"I can't do this." Harry stated softly. "If you won't agree than I guess this is it."

"So be it." Severus stated softly.

Harry turned and walked away from the Headmaster and to the door.

He looked back once. "Floo me when you decide to grow up."

Then he turned and left.

As he was walking down the steps, he could not help thinking about how Severus had just thrown away the positive relationship they had managed to form. All because he wouldn't admit that Sirius and his father were good people.

'Such a waste.'

~The End~

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><p>AN: I know some people will hate me for this story. Mostly because I did not make it end more positively, despite my saying that it was heavily influenced by my reading of PadyandMoony's **No Disparagement** challenge. I just honestly cannot see Severus ever forgiving or liking either James Potter or Sirius Black. At least not at the point of time after the Battle of Hogwarts.

As for Harry, despite his belief, he is still a teenager who needs guidance and has a very black and white point of view of the world. Both Sirius and Severus do realize that the other have done good things, however they cannot get over their views of each other. As Severus said, too much damage has been done and neither side is willing to compromise.

Does that make me happy? No. Am I upset that Harry and Severus' relationship is over? Yes. But one doesn't always get what they want out of life, do they?

Please read and review!


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